YONGSAN GARRISON, South Korea - Since 2000, the Yongsan Garrison Catholic Community has given more than 100,000 pounds of rice to charitable organizations in Korea.
Donated by Yongsan Army Garrison's Holy Family Catholic Church parishioners and coordinated by the Knights of Columbus Council, the donations are delivered to a home for abused girls in Seoul, a soup kitchen in Incheon and migrant worker centers in Buchon and Gasan.
Eighth U.S. Army Command Chaplain Lt. Col. Neal Buckon said the rice donation program originated when Holy Family parishioner Lance Toyofuku and his wife started giving rice dishes to the homeless around Seoul Station in 2000.
After a South Korean government program was established to provide rice to the homeless, the Yongsan Catholic Community worked through local religious leaders to find organizations for the rice donations. Over time, the organizations they contribute to expanded to the current four: Euphrasia House, Friends without Borders, Gasan Migrant Workers Camp and Feed the Poor.
The rice is gathered during Catholic Mass on the second Sunday of each month at the South Post and Main Post Chapels.
The Yongsan Catholic Community currently donates approximately 800 pounds of rice per month, distributing it equally to each organization.
"These rice donations demonstrate the compassion and commitment of the Yongsan Catholic Community's parishioners and volunteer leaders," said Buckon, "and the enduring nature of this program reflects the highest values of their faith and the nation they serve."
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